If The Bread Basket cannot find a new home, it will soon be closing its doors as neighboring Sweet Cheeks Meets prepares to expand into the space.
The clock is ticking for a beloved Mexican bakery in town.
The Bread Basket of Jackson Hole, aka La Canasta del Pan, lost its lease this year at 185 Scott Lane, the storefront in West Jackson’s SoBro (south of Broadway) where it has been for 11 years.
If the owners of The Bread Basket cannot find a new space to bake and sell delicacies like warm blueberry empanadas and cold cinnamon horchata, they will have to close in coming months.
“We’re the only Hispanic bakery in town,” Bread Basket owner Mina Jiménez Mejia said in Spanish. “We make artisanal bread by hand, without a machine. The taste is unique.”
Mejia has worked for the Mexican bakery for four years, seven days a week, to pay for her daughter’s education at the University of Wyoming as well as her son’s education at Colorado State University. Her other two children attend Jackson Hole High School.
The bakery owners have looked at relocating outside of Jackson, though for a business that relies on regulars, moving would slice walk-in sales.
Mejia also worries that if The Bread Basket were to move as far as Driggs, Idaho, she would have to commute for several hours a day to bring her kids to and from school and soccer practice.
“It’s very hard because I don’t know how long we have left,” Mejia said in Spanish. “I have kids and I need to stay for their school.”
The Bread Basket borders Sweet Cheeks Meats, a popular retail butchery. The bakery sees about 70 customers a day while Sweet Cheeks sees hundreds, people spilling onto the sidewalk to await their turn at the counter or hang out while a sandwich is made to order.
The two businesses share the same landlord, who conceded the Sweet Cheeks owner’s request to stretch into the 1,200-square-foot unit next door, which has housed The Bread Basket of Jackson Hole for a little over a decade.
“For one, I felt that Sweet Cheeks was a more successful business,” Carl Gross, the Scott Lane property owner, said over the phone. “For another, it is easier for me to deal with fewer tenants.”
He said the bakery’s lease expired in March, but that he gave the bakery a year’s notice in 2021 that they would not be able to renew their rental.
The owner of Sweet Cheeks Meats, Nick Phillips, said the bakery’s lease expired 15 months ago. While the location of The Bread Basket is now leased by Phillips, he has chosen to allow the bakery to continue to operate until equipment for Sweet Cheeks’ expansion is available, which he said could take six months.
“We tried to help them find a couple other spaces, but that did not end up working out,” Phillips said over the display case full of steaks and sausages. “We are busting at the seams for what we’re doing out of this space.”
Mejia said she learned of the potential closure only two months ago, while another worker said he learned about it eight months ago. Much of the bakery’s equipment is already boxed up, since it is unclear when exactly ovens will have to shut off and whether they will have a few hours or months to clear out.
Sweet Cheeks now occupies 1,050 square feet, a small space packed with shelves full of craft condiments and refrigerators full of meat, prepared food, cold beer and wine.
Phillips said he signed the lease for expansion in May 2020, which helped his business secure a coveted retail liquor license from the town. One of the owners at The Bread Basket believes Sweet Cheeks intends to take over the bakery to build a bar, though Phillips insists there is no room for sit-down accommodation.
His vision for growth involves expanded services on take-home meals and retail offerings, a fish counter and perhaps a charcuterie case — not a bar. He believes the popularity of his business is because he built “a good concept with good quality food,” so Sweet Cheeks shouldn’t have to squeeze.
The Bread Basket owner sees it differently.
“It’s a battle of bread and alcohol,” Mejia said, clapping flour off her hands.
Tres leches cake with rainbow sprinkles, ruby red conchas, churros with a cinnamon sugar rub and puff pastry orejas are among the treats for which The Bread Basket is known. A majority of the bakery’s customers are weekly regulars, ranging from Mexican, Salvadoran to Anglo-American residents.
Roman Lopez is a construction worker who frequents The Bread Basket once a week for its fair prices and slice of home he can taste. He purchased 14 rellenos de crema on Friday for his family to celebrate the end of the week.
Another regular, Laura Santos, visits The Bread Basket every other day because she loves how the baked goods are handmade.
“I bought 20 conchas this time for my family and friends,” Santos said in Spanish at the bakery on Friday. “I don’t know where I would go if they were to close.”
The Bread Basket will continue searching for a new brick and mortar location in Jackson, but would be willing to relocate to other neighboring towns if need be. The bakery hopes to find a new home for its ovens, prep tables and retail cabinets before Sweet Cheeks needs the extra room.
Contact Miranda de Moraes at 732-7063 or mdm@jhnewsandguide.com.
Raised in a Brazilian-American household in Southern California, Miranda is fascinated by the intersection of culture and ecology. She holds a master’s in journalism from Columbia and is searching for jackalopes in her free time.
Your comment has been submitted.
There was a problem reporting this.
Please note: Online comments may also run in our print publications. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. Please turn off your CAPS LOCK. No personal attacks. Discuss issues & opinions rather than denigrating someone with an opposing view. No political attacks. Refrain from using negative slang when identifying political parties. Be truthful. Don’t knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be proactive. Use the “Report” link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with us. We’d love to hear eyewitness accounts or history behind an article. Use your real name: Anonymous commenting is not allowed. . The News&Guide welcomes comments from our paid subscribers. Tell us what you think. Thanks for engaging in the conversation!
Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to read or post comments.
Sorry, no promotional deals were found matching that code.
Promotional Rates were found for your code.
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.
Sign up to receive local, breaking news alerts as they become available.
Sign up to receive a weekly e-newsletter with a selection of healthcare and wellness news from the Jackson Hole News&Guide.
Sign up to receive a weekly e-newsletter with a selection of private, public and continuing education news from the Jackson Hole News&Guide.
Sign up to receive a monthly e-newsletter with a selection of photography and video from the Jackson Hole News&Guide.
Sign up to receive a weekly e-newsletter with a selection of town and county government news from the Jackson Hole News&Guide.
Sign up to receive a weekly e-newsletter with a selection of arts and entertainment headlines from the Scene section of Jackson Hole News&Guide.
Sign up to receive a weekly e-newsletter with a selection of economic and business news from the Jackson Hole News&Guide.
Sign up to receive a weekly e-newsletter with a selection of environmental news from the Jackson Hole News&Guide.
Sign up to receive a weekly e-newsletter with a spotlight on Jackson Hole's crime, justice and emergency news from the Jackson Hole News&Guide.
Sign up to receive a daily e-newsletter with a selection of local, state and regional news headlines from the Jackson Hole Daily.
Sign up to receive a weekly e-newsletter with a selection of inspiring stories about the faces and places of Jackson Hole from the Jackson Hole News&Guide.
Sign up to receive a weekly e-newsletter with a selection of outdoors, sports and recreation news from the Jackson Hole News&Guide.
Sign up to receive a weekly e-newsletter with a selection of trending local news headlines from the Jackson Hole News&Guide.
Sign up to receive a weekly e-newsletter with a selection of news headlines from the Jackson Hole News&Guide.
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Invalid password or account does not exist
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.
Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
A receipt was sent to your email.